Category: Featured News

There are some considerable advantages to wearables and they are becoming increasingly obvious.

With all the different DIY monitors and devices that patients have to use at home – which now include wearable technology in many different forms – the shape of the relationship between doctors and patients is starting to change, as is the care available from doctors and the care patients can provide themselves.

Blood pressure and glucose monitors, fitness bands, and other devices make tracking easier.

Wearable technology has pushed this trend forward very quickly, as wristbands and smartwatches offer sensors that can perform functions such as heartbeat and blood pressure tracking, sleep tracking, activity tracking and a range of other capabilities. Not only is it giving patients the ability to better understand the functions of their body systems, over time, but according to Yale University medical professor, Stephen Huot, doctors are already starting to see the benefits of the use of these wearables.

This helps to explain why so many people are using wearable technology and why this trend is growing.

In 2012, Pew Research Center conducted a nationwide survey that determined that even by that time, 69 percent of adults were monitoring at least one indicator of health and wellness. These included diet, weight or exercise. Among them, 21 percent said that they were using a form of technology to be able to track that particular indicator. That said, Pew now projects that as weareables become more readily available, it will skyrocket in popularity, to the point that people will be commonly using wearable or even embedded devices by 2025.

Pew also explained in the report on its research that among the survey participants, 46 percent felt that their behaviors in tracking their health indicator(s) had altered their overall approach to a healthful lifestyle or toward someone else for whom they were providing care. Furthermore 40 percent of the survey participants said that the data they had collected by tracking had driven them to pose new and different questions to their doctors, or had even encouraged them to obtain a second opinion.

For this reason, doctors are increasingly prescribing the use of wearable technology, particularly for monitoring certain chronic conditions, such as patients with diabetes.

Square announces plans to launch IPO in the near future

Square, one of North America’s leading mobile payments firms, has announced plans to file an Initial Public Offering (IPO), selling shares under the ticker symbol SQ. Analysts have been speculating that Square would launch an IPO for months, but the company has been relatively quiet regarding its plans, until now. Currently, the Square IPO is valued at as much as $275 million, though this number could change as the IPO attracts more interest from investors.

Company expected to offer more information concerning IPO in the coming months

The number of shares the company will offer and what price range these shares will have are not yet set in stone. Goldman Sachs will serve as the lead underwriter for the company’s shares, alongside JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. When the IPO will launch has not yet been officially announced, but growing interest in mobile payments may mean that the IPO is coming sooner rather than later.

Mobile payments continue to gain popularity in the US and elsewhere

Mobile payments have become very popular in the United States and elsewhere around the world. Square has established a significant lead in the sector, proving that its Square Cash application, as well as other services, are capable of engaging mobile consumers and allowing retailers to do the same. In 2014, Square reported some $850 million in revenue, though it had also lost approximately $154 million. The company has narrowed its losses so far this year, reporting $77 million in losses and $560 million in revenue generated.

Square proves that it can find success in the mobile payments field

Since its founding in 2009, Square has raised more than $600 million in venture capital. The company has established itself as a leading entity in mobile payments and had helped Starbucks do the same over a relatively short amount of time. As mobile payments continue to grow in popularity, Square is likely to continue seeing success in this field, especially as it works with other companies that also have a strong interest in mobile commerce.